A few days ago, one of my friends posted on her website a story about her life and a tough decision she had to make –
about eating her rabbits!

You see, she has a sustainable homestead and part of that is raising and growing some of their own foods, including rabbit.
Tami wrote of the job she hates the most, having to “do the deed” in order to have meat on the dinner table.

She wrote about other tough jobs around the homestead that has to be done whether she likes it or not.
She also wrote about her online business and that there were other task there that were tough and rough but she still had to do them.

Of course, this got me to thinking about the Empty Nest and some of the tough decisions we had to make along the way – and we survived.

Tough Decisions in the Empty Nest

One of the first decision we had to make was to allow our son to go off to college 3 1/2 hours away.  I was so tempted to try to “make” him go to college close to home, like in the back yard.  We live in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex where many colleges can be found.

But, I knew that decision wouldn’t be the best thing for him.  I needed to let my little bird fly the coop.

Later, after he was established in the college life, we had to do an emergency repair on our home for some foundation work.  During that time, we moved our bedroom and changed his old room into the Master Bedroom.  That decision had a domino effect which led to moving around the living room, knocking out a wall, enlarging space, etc.   The final result, was that our little cottage (900 square feet) was reduced to only one bedroom.  It was a tough decision for me as a mom to take away “his room” and I didn’t want him to feel as though he wasn’t welcome home =)   He’s been home many times since and the pull out couch bed is equipped with an extra cushy mattress. He survived the change, we survived the demolition, and we ended up with more usable space.

Along the way, we’ve had other tough decisions.  But, the final lessons learned was that while those decisions were initially tough I always ended up being a stronger person. Tough decisions allowed me to take my life to new heights. They allowed me to become an over-comer.

Even The ReFeathered Nest was a tough decision.  Did I really want to put some of my empty nest struggles and victories out there in the world wide web for all eyes to see?  The final answer was YES.  If I could help just one other mom realize that life doesn’t stop just because the kids fly the coop, then it would all be worth it.

Now, don’t forget to read The Homespun Chick’s  article about her tough decision.  She really has a great lesson for all to learn.

Hugs and feathers from the nest~~()~~

Kim Steadman is the COOP (Chief Online Operating Person) for The Re-Feathered Nest. A place of encouragement for moms entering the Empty Nest Zone who find they need to RePurpose and ReDesign their lives now that the kids have flown the coop. Kim can be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TheRefeatheredNest and on Google+ at +Kim.